That played out title phrase, of course, applies to the raising of all children. It is especially applicable to our daughters though, and to our whole experience of getting Jeff to this point in his treatment. So, to our whole village: thank you again. Thank you so much.
I do want to take a minute to give shout outs to the Miner village townspeople who made last night possible. Last night Jeff and I had a date. A date! Admittedly, it was in Jeff's hospital room at UCSF, but I believe it was the longest child-free time we have spent together since Lydia was born.
Shout outs first to Kate, Jamie, and Benno who took Stella in as a surrogate daughter and sister on a camping trip with families from Stella's school. I know other families on the trip (Galateia, Justin, Jack, and West, in particular) also welcomed her and made her feel at home away from home. By all reports, she was so at ease that she (of all people!) slept like a champion. She also saw a deer and a banana slug, and ate s'mores, so it was pretty much an amazing trip for her. Next, to my mom, for putting her life on hold for what will be more than 7 weeks to be here with us this summer. For everything she has done we are so indebted. And she watched Lydia last night while I visited Jeff chez 11 Long, so yay Mama! And big thanks to my delightful coworkers, and Kate M (née B), and Matt and Heather for Serpentine gift cards. I'm not sure which gift card we used last night, but we purchased two deeelicious hamburgers and a great shaved vegetable salad and ate way, way better than what the UCSF cafeteria would have provided for our impromptu Heme/Onc/BMT ward date. And to Jeff's awesome nurse, Aime, who managed to transfer Jeff out of a less than ideal double room situation on Saturday afternoon. He slept reasonably well last night and has been able to find some peace and quiet to work on a book review. Jeff hasn't actually had any space to himself during chemo since Round 2, which was the infamous "shingles" experience... The faux shingles made the solo room more like a solitary cell - without even any recreation time - since he was completely confined to his room. So getting a single room that he can actually exit from time to time is a major plus.
And, finally, to my dear husband. I never envisioned enjoying a take-out meal eaten over a hospital bed as much as I did last night. It was delightful. I find myself surprised to feel so grateful that months like the months we have recently experienced have made me take fewer things for granted. I can't remember exactly what we laughed about last night, but even during the worst, worst parts of not knowing what was wrong with Jeff, and the moments when he is at his very sickest, he has always found room for silliness and humor. I snagged one awesome dude. Go me! With that I will cut the sappiness and return to my regularly scheduled programming: that is, "Call the Midwife" with my mama now that both little Miner ladies are asleep. Good night all.
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